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Meeting of the WHO Nutrition Guidance Expert Advisory Group (NUGAG)

Subgroup on Diet and Health

The March 2011 meeting will be the 2nd meeting for the NUGAG Subgroup on Diet and Health following the 1st meeting held in February 2010. At the March meeting, outcomes for the systematic reviews on the topics of total fat and sugars (e.g. weight gain and dental caries for sugars, and weight gain for total fat) will be reviewed. Additionally, the scope of the systematic reviews to be undertaken related to salt/sodium and potassium will be defined and the PICO tables to guide the systematic reviews will be finalized.

The main objectives of this meeting are:

Recommendations on sugars and total fat:

Review and discuss the outcomes of the systematic reviews of the evidence for sugars and total fats;

Review the GRADE Evidence profiles for sugars and total fat;

Review draft evidence-informed recommendations on sugars and total fat;

Assess the strength of the recommendations, taking into consideration the balance of evidence on benefits and harms, costs, values and preferences;

Define implications for research on the issues related to sugars and total fat;

Determine a ‘review by’ date for the guideline validity, considering the ongoing research and controversies.

Recommendations on salt/sodium and potassium:

Review the draft scoping questions, and priority outcomes for recommendations on salt/sodium and potassium;

Finalize the PICO tables for salt/sodium and potassium consumption;

Identify what systematic reviews in the area of salt/sodium and potassium are required;

Draft the protocol for the systematic review(s), in order to facilitate the process of undertaking subsequent systematic review(s), on salt/sodium and potassium.

The draft recommendations related to sugars and total fat will be reviewed during the March meeting and then will be revised by the WHO Secretariat. The revised draft recommendations will be forwarded to the WHO Nutrition Guidance Steering Committee, the members of the NUGAG Subgroup on Diet and Health, and the Key External Experts and Stakeholders Panel for feedback prior to the next NUGAG meeting in November 2011 where they will be finalized.

In accordance with the process established in the WHO Handbook for Guideline Development, the WHO is seeking input and comments on the draft scoping document related to recommendations of salt/sodium and potassium consumption. We welcome all comments from any interested parties on the scoping document.

Please note that if you would like to comment on both the salt/sodium recommendations and the potassium recommendations, you should submit a form for each individually.